1. Field of the Invention
The present application relates generally to cooling systems for bearings, and more specifically, to a bearing cooling system using heat transfer pipes.
2. Description of Related Art
Bearings are well known in the art and are effective means to allow rotational movement of one body relative to another. It should be understood during high speed use, the bearings create a significant amount of heat, which in turn requires a cooling system to avoid failure. In some embodiments, the cooling system is provided with a jet that injects a stream of lubricate fluid on the bearing. This embodiment has been shown to be effective in the majority of applications; however, it should also be understood that because of space restraints, some cooling systems can only lubricate one side of the bearing, while the other opposing side is not lubricated.
A common disadvantage with conventional cooling systems for bearings is the limitation that the bearing can be cooled by merely cooling one side. As such, the bearing is prone to thermal overrun, which in turn could result in catastrophic failure.
Although the foregoing developments in the field of bearing cooling systems represent great strides, many shortcomings remain.
While the system and method of the present application is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof have been shown by way of example in the drawings and are herein described in detail. It should be understood, however, that the description herein of specific embodiments is not intended to limit the invention to the particular embodiment disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the process of the present application as defined by the appended claims.